Category Archives: CleanTech BioFuels Inc. CLTH

CleanTech Biofuels Inc. is an early-stage company capable of converting municipal solid waste into cellulose, a high-quality fuel that can serve as a feedstock to make other fuels. The biomass can be co-fired with coal to produce electricity. It is also an ideal feedstock for producing syngas or biofuels.

By using the existing infrastructure for municipal solid waste collection and disposal to collect biomass at low or possibly negative feedstock cost, CleanTech expects to achieve profitability relatively quickly. The company’s technology, to turn garbage into fuel, is already operating in Australia and is being implemented in Chicago.

CleanTech announced today that the company’s Biomass Recovery Process, which cleans and separates cellulosic biomass from municipal solid waste, has been selected by the County Commission and Public Works Authority of Pawnee County, Oklahoma for implementation at a proposed recycling and biomass recovery facility to be constructed in Pawnee County.

According to Dale Vance, the Pawnee County Commissioner leading the effort on the recycling program, it will be a unique facility. The proposed plant will sit on 40,000 square feet of enclosed space and initially process up to 600 tons of municipal waste a day. It will reduce landfill consumption by 85 percent, generate its own energy to operate and produce renewable energy at a profit.

CleanTech Biofuels’ CEO Edward Hennessey spoke about the Pawnee County project, saying that he believes the company’s Biomass Recovery Process can be used to “provide feedstock for energy production for a number of existing and developing alternative energy technologies.” He also believes the company “offers a compelling solution,” particularly “in a market where energy demand continues to grow and the cost of handling waste continues to increase.”

CleanTech Biofuels, Inc., an early stage provider of cellulosic biomass derived from municipal solid waste for energy production, announced today that it has successfully demonstrated the operational capability of its technology that processes municipal solid waste into clean, homogeneous biomass for energy production. Approximately 10 tons of garbage obtained from the City of Chicago was processed.

“The successful operation of this vessel is the first step in constructing a commercial plant using clean biomass derived from garbage as a feedstock for energy production,” stated Edward Hennessey, CEO of CleanTech Biofuels. “In reaching this milestone, we have proven the viability of our patented technology to clean and separate municipal solid waste into its component parts and can move forward with our plans for commercialization.”

Hennessey added, “With increasing political support for sustainable renewable energy, worldwide focus on carbon reduction and decreasing land availability, our biomass recovery process offers a compelling solution. Biomass we recover from municipal waste has a superior emissions profile to many other sources of fuel including coal and wood waste, can reduce landfill disposal by 80-90%, is technology agnostic for use of feedstock and produces renewable biomass for energy production using the existing infrastructure for collecting and disposing of garbage. In a market where energy demand continues to grow and the costs of handling waste continue to increase, we are well positioned to take another step towards our goal of bringing our technology to municipalities, solid waste haulers, and operators of landfills and materials recovery facilities.”

Today after the closing bell, CleanTech Biofuels gave special recognition to Missouri for adopting Proposition C, Renewable Portfolio Standards, which requires the state’s three large investor-owned utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2021. With Missouri now onboard, over half the U.S. States have adopted Renewable Portfolio Standards.

The approval of this initiative tightens the voluntary standards that the Missouri legislature passed last year. The previous legislature only obligated companies to make “good-faith efforts” to reach a goal of 11 percent renewables by 2020. The overwhelming support behind this initiative demonstrates the voting public’s strong favor of developing local sources of energy, with more than 66% of the votes cast in favor of adoption.

CleanTech is currently focused on implementing its technology for the production of renewable biomass from municipal solid waste at a commercial site in Chicago, Illinois. Other sites for commercial development are also being evaluated by the company.

CleanTech Biofuels, Inc. (CLTH.OB) is taking a step at reducing the amount of waste communities dispose of into landfills. From the 250 million tons of garbage American produce annually, about 14% is burned at combustion facilities while 32% are composted or recycled. Rather than placing the remaining 54% of municipal solid waste (MSW) directly into landfills, CleanTech has a set of technologies that is capable of converting the cellulosic material in MSW into locally produced biofuels. One main element of the process is CleanTech’s Pressurized Stem Classification (PSC) technology that separates and cleans the usable material.

MSW consists of a variety of waste material from air conditioners to yard waste to aluminum cans. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, 50 to 60 percent of MSW is made of cellulosic material that can be converted into usable biofuels. Currently, the only operating waste-to-energy facilities use pick and pull lines to separate the material that is burned to produce electricity. Unfortunately, high levels of toxins are present in the output from the burning process that requires sophisticated, high-cost scrubbers and cleaners to keep air quality within local, state and federal requirements.

CleanTech’s PSC technology uses a steam classification process to separate and clean various types of MSW. The MSW is first placed on a tipping floor where oversized bulky items, such as furniture and appliances, are removed by hand. The remaining material is placed into a PSC vessel that is sealed and pressurized. The MSW is then agitated, like in a washing machine, while steam is injected into the vessel. The excess moisture and volatiles are then vented and captured for destruction at the end of the process.

After the vessel is depressurized, the sterile material is conveyed to shaker screens that separate the materials into specific groups. A large portion of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is strategically separated. The VOCs are then burned in a standard thermal oxidizer to avoid the release of any toxins into the atmosphere. Steel, glass, and aluminum are recovered and sold for reuse. Any of the non-solid material placed into the PSC vessel is transformed into a cellulosic mass, called Processed Engineered Fuel (PEF), with the same consistency as compost and a moisture content of about 50%. The PEF is easily separated in the separation process as it falls through the shaker screens and is then converted into ethanol.

CleanTech has found that less than 20% of the original MSW is typically sent to a landfill. Amazingly the PSC technology allows a facility to recover between 80-90 percent of the original MSW for commercial use. The CleanTech technology is benefiting the environment in a number of ways – creating raw material for the production of ethanol, reducing the amount of toxins being released into the atmosphere through its VOC processing, and increasing the amount of recyclable materials for reuse. CleanTech has definitely found a way to turn trash into something useful.

CleanTech BioFuels, Inc. will be featured in upcoming Daily Newsletters, Daily Blogs, Message Boards, and the Small Cap Daily Internet broadcasts put out by QualityStocks. QualityStocks has over 740,000 subscribers to The Daily Stock Newsletter, which is a free service that collects data from hundreds of Small-Cap and Micro-Cap online Investment Newsletters and puts it all into one Free Daily Newsletter Report.

Ed Hennessey, CEO of CleanTech, has the company focused on developing ground-breaking technologies to convert cellulosic material found in municipal solid waste (MSW) into ethanol. Americans throw away over 250 million tons of garbage every year. Out of all that garbage, approximately 32 percent is recovered and recycled or composted, 14 percent is burned at combustion facilities, and the remaining 54 percent (or 135 million tons of garbage) is disposed of in landfills. The demand for the production of ethanol has grown to incredible levels with the recent volatility in oil prices and recently enacted legislation requiring a production rate of 36 billion gallons of ethanol per year by 2022.

Recently, CleanTech Biofuels acquired the patent crucial to their work in alternative fuels. The patent, which was formerly a sublicense of World Waste Technologies’ patented process, covers the method for transforming diverse pulp and paper products into a homogenous cellulosic feedstock by process of pressurized steam. That feedstock, which is organic waste matter, is then transformed into a clean burning ethanol through a two-step process which CleanTech is perfecting.

Mr. Hennessey stated, “CleanTech has a unique and solid business foundation, and appreciates the opportunity to sponsor the Quality Stocks Newsletter, Video and Blogs. QualityStocks is providing a much needed service in the micro-cap and small-cap markets.”

Michael McCarthy, Director of Business Development for QualityStocks.net, stated that QualityStocks is very pleased to have CleanTech BioFuels as a featured company. McCarthy added that the company, CLTH, is methodically establishing itself as a category leader.

Cleantech Biofuels is taking the lead in the waste-to-energy industry. With many companies trying to find direction in this field, Cleantech has focused on developing ground-breaking technologies to convert cellulosic material found in municipal solid waste (MSW) into ethanol, which will help generate biofuels and other usable energy products at competitive prices.

Cleantech employs a sophisticated technology known as HFTA technology. HFTA was developed at the renowned University of California, Berkeley and has substantial advantages over any other available means to hydrolyze cellulosic material for ethanol production.

Cleantech has a game plan in place that is not only friendly to the marketplace but will put a smile across the faces of environmentalists across the world. Cleantech anticipates quickly achieving profitability by dramatically reducing pollution released into the environment by the disposal of municipal waste and reducing the costs of transporting waste long distances for disposal.

Leading the Cleantech revolution is Ed Hennessey. Hennessey serves as the company’s CEO and President and has been in charge of Cleantech and its predecessor companies since 2002. Through his tireless energy, Hennessey has developed the business strategy for the young company and has secured the existing technology licenses and required funding.

While becoming a pioneer in the waste-to-energy industry, Hennessey is also known in the business world for his brilliance in the financial market which is a reputation he earned during his time with Shearson Lehman Brothers in 1986 and ultimately opening and managing his own securities brokerage and investment banking firm which he sold in 1999.

With state-of-the-art technology and a leader like Ed Hennessey, Cleantech Biofuels may quickly become a household name.

CleanTech BioFuels, Inc. is focused on developing ground-breaking technologies to convert cellulosic material found in municipal solid waste (MSW) into ethanol. Out of the 250+ million tons of garbage disposed of each year in America, only 32% is recovered, 14% is burned at combustion facilities and the remaining 54% is tossed in landfills. However, using CleanTech’s technology, this unusable waste is a source of energy rather than a problem.

The company holds exclusive licenses to a collection of technologies that offer substantial advantages in converting MSW into viable energy. CleanTech is also developing an exclusive license to produce ethanol from municipal garbage by utilizing a dilute acid hydrolysis process that transforms cellulosic feedstock into fermentable sugars. Together, these technologies will allow CleanTech to produce cellulosic ethanol from municipal garbage at low costs.

Because the company has such a unique method of solving disposal issues while also addressing our dependence on foreign oils, it has been presented with opportunities to joint venture, license or acquire other related technologies that can also be used to convert municipal garbage into energy. CleanTech anticipates developing other complementary technologies to convert even greater amounts of the municipal waste stream into clean fuels.

The demand for the production of ethanol has grown to incredible levels with the recent volatility in oil prices and recently enacted legislation requiring a production rate of 36 billion gallons of ethanol per year by 2022. Ethanol from agricultural products like corn and sugar cane isn’t expected to be able to meet this mandate, creating an even stronger demand for advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol.

CleanTech BioFuels, Inc. (CLTH.OB) is a small company with a big idea. The idea is to turn solid municipal waste, of which the U.S. generates over 600,000 tons each day, into ethanol, and CleanTech now has the licensed technology to do it.

Ethanol, you may recall, has been at the heart of a rising controversy. Ethanol is a versatile renewable fuel, based upon plant material, providing a clean way to tap the sun’s energy. Its biggest advantage is that it can be used to power cars. Since 1975, Brazil has been producing and distributing ethanol, made from sugarcane, and has now effectively replaced 50% of its gasoline use with ethanol. Although there are a number of issues that would make such a transition less likely for the United States, ethanol remains a popular candidate as a major alternative fuel for the future.

However, ethanol today is produced largely from fruits and grains, an important part of the world’s food supply. Demands for ethanol as an alternative energy source are met with objections that industrialized countries could strain dwindling food resources to power their cars.

One alternative is ethanol made from cellulose, something that people don’t eat. But there has always been a question about whether cellulosic ethanol can be produced efficiently enough to be competitive, and whether farmers would have the economic motivation to grow switchgrass and other cellulosic ethanol sources. Now, CleanTech BioFuels, using advanced chemical processing technologies developed at the University of California at Berkeley, has met a major milestone in producing ethanol from municipal solid waste, discarded material that has already been produced.

CleanTech has, for the first time, satisfactorily tested the technology and associated equipment for efficiently generating fermentable sugars from municipal solid waste. The patented technology uses nitric acid, versus the more common sulfuric or hydrochloric acid, for hydrolyzing cellulosic material. CleanTech believes that nitric acid hydrolysis represents the cutting edge of current technology in the cellulosic ethanol industry. These fermentable sugars can then be processed into ethanol.

The advantages of turning waste directly into ethanol are significant:

• It offers a non-fossil fuel source that has an already existing supplier, avoiding agricultural and food supply issues.
• It reduces the cost of transporting waste long distances for disposal.
• It reduces pollution released into the environment by the disposal of municipal solid waste.
• It reduces the amount of material going into landfills by as much as eighty five percent.
• It increases the amount of recyclable materials that can be recovered from municipal solid waste.
• It generates biofuels and other usable energy products at competitive prices.

CleanTech Biofuels is in the business of converting your garbage waste into ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol production is a complicated process, but very interesting. The first step is at your garbage containers; waste is picked up and taken to a sorting facility. Mike Rowe from the Discovery Channel’s ‘Dirty Jobs’ has covered this type of sorting facility. Next, the items are taken to a large special conveyer belt vessel. Inside this vessel, the items are agitated, heated, and steamed along the inside of the vessel so the organic/cellular matter can fall. The larger items go to a recycling center while the biomass stays for the next steps.

The biomass is then processed with a two-step saccherification process, which is a fancy word for converting organic matter into sugar. Nitric acid is added which produces pentose sugars. Ammonia added to freeze the process which yields hextose sugars. Heated once again, Ethanol is produced.

Americans throw away over 250 million tons of garbage every year. Out of all that garbage, approximately 32 percent is recovered and recycled or composted, 14 percent is burned at combustion facilities, and the remaining 54 percent (or 135 million tons of garbage) is disposed of in landfills. Imagine if every city had a reprocessing plant like this instead of trucking their waste into landfills which can, over time, leach chemicals into our groundwater.

CleanTech also announced that they have reached the First Milestone for converting cellulose to ethanol in its exclusive worldwide sublicense agreement for technology developed at the University of California, Berkeley. The first milestone required that CleanTech satisfactorily test the technology purchased from the University of California, Berkeley to generate fermentable sugars from municipal solid waste at efficiencies satisfactory to CleanTech. The milestone has been achieved and all tests have been positive, proving the process a success.

For years, it was believed that corn-derived ethanol was the future of biofuels – a naivety that failed to entertain the implications of putting a major strain on global food supply. Ethanol, however, is an extremely attractive source of fuel for those who might produce it in a more practical fashion.

Using a process developed at the University of California at Berkeley, CleanTech is closing in on the efficient production of what is referred to as “cellulosic ethanol” from a non-food source. So what otherwise useless material has a high organic content, and is readily available for processing? If you guessed garbage, you are absolutely correct.

The company utilizes proprietary technologies that effectively convert organic waste into “process-engineered fuel”, which can then be converted into sugars that are fermented to produce clean-burning ethanol. Of itself, this new source of propulsion is a lovely prospect indeed, though with CleanTech’s method, the resulting reduction of necessary landfill space is an added perk. With the widespread implementation of this revolutionary process, CleanTech asserts the possibility of cutting landfill requirements by as much as 85 percent.

CleanTech CEO, Edward P. Hennessey, stated: “The preliminary data we received is extremely positive. We are optimistically awaiting the final results that will quantify more key variables in the waste-to-energy economics equation.”

It is solutions like these that could ultimately lead to a better future for everyone. Freedom from fossil fuels, and an answer to the ongoing problem of waste disposal; CleanTech Biofuels aims to kill these two birds with one stone.